Tags:
Journalism of Courage
Bharti Airtel,India’s top mobile operator,posted a bigger-than-expected 8.2 per cent fall in quarterly profit as cheap call charges took a toll in the world’s fastest-growing mobile market.
Bharti,32 per cent owned by Southeast Asia’s top phone firm SingTel,said on Wednesday net profit fell to Rs 20.55 billion under the US accounting standards in its fiscal fourth-quarter ended March from Rs 22.39 billion a year ago.
A Reuters poll of 12 brokerages had forecast a net profit of 20.78 billion rupees for the New Delhi-based firm,which struck a $9 billion deal in March to acquire Kuwaiti telecom Zain’s operations in 15 African countries.
Bharti,with about 128 million mobile subscribers,controls almost 22 per cent of the Indian market. It aims to become the world’s No. 5 wireless firm after closing the African deal. It also operates in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
